Competition rules

1. Eligibility

NEEW is open to photographers aged 18 and over. Each competition also carries its own eligibility configuration, which may restrict entry to or from particular countries. The rules for a competition are shown on that competition’s page and take precedence over this general page where they differ.

2. Entering a competition

NEEW is free. Daily competitions cost nothing to enter. Weekly, Monthly, Seasonal and Yearly competitions require NEEW Points, which are granted and earned, never bought. An administrator may reduce or waive the requirement for an individual competition.

Every photographer receives a Monthly Participation Grant of 150 NEEW Points every 30 days — enough for two Weekly entries. Unused grant points expire when the next grant arrives, so they are meant to be used. You can earn more by completing a Community Review batch: ten comparisons of other photographers’ work earns 3 NEEW Points, once a day.

Daily

Free

Weekly

75 NP

Monthly

175 NP

Seasonal

300 NP

Yearly

500 NP

You may enter any level directly, whether or not you have qualified for it. One photograph may appear only once in the same competition.

3. Qualification

Winning a competition earns a Qualification Ticket for the next level up. A Daily winner qualifies for the Weekly competition. At Weekly, Monthly and Seasonal level, the Winner and both Runner-ups qualify for the level above.

A Qualification Ticket covers the entry fee for one entry at that level. It expires when the relevant competition closes. If you have already paid to enter a competition and then qualify for that same competition, your entry fee is returned to your NEEW Points balance automatically.

4. Judging

Judging is blind wherever practical: judges score submissions without seeing who made them. Each competition publishes its criteria. Unless configured otherwise, the criteria and weights are Visual Impact 30%, Composition 25%, Originality 25% and Technical Execution 20%, each scored from 1 to 10.

Scores are locked before a ranking is calculated, and results are reviewed and confirmed by an administrator before publication. Every change to a published result is recorded in an audit log.

Paid entries and qualified entries go through exactly the same judging process. No entry receives preferential judging for any reason, including payment.

5. Photographic integrity

NEEW is a photography platform. Fully AI-generated images are not permitted, and generative replacement of substantial image content is not permitted. Normal photographic processing is permitted: exposure adjustment, crop, colour grading, noise reduction, sharpening, dust removal and standard retouching.

You must own or control the rights to every photograph you submit. You retain ownership of your work. NEEW receives only the rights required to display the submitted work, operate the competition, feature winners, promote NEEW competitions and results, and create result posts for social media.

6. Competition economics and award policy

Users pay for participation and professional competition access, not for the chance to receive money or an item of monetary value.

What NEEW is not

• NEEW is not gambling, a sweepstakes, a lottery, or a prize-pool platform.
• NEEW does not pay cash prizes.
• NEEW does not award products, gift cards, or any other item of monetary value.
• There is no prize pool, and no award depends in any way on the number of paid entries.

What NEEW Points are

• NEEW Points cannot be purchased. There is no checkout, no billing, and no way to convert money into entries.
• They are a closed-loop internal credit whose only function is entering NEEW competitions. They control participation and reward returning — they are not a payment.
• They have no cash value, cannot be cashed out, cannot be transferred between users, and cannot be exchanged for prizes.
• Winning never grants NEEW Points.

What winners receive

Winner and Runner-ups receive reputation awards only: a Recognition Award, a trophy and permanent Trophy Room record, public recognition on the result page, a profile badge and placement record, eligibility for an editorial feature, a social sharing card, and a Qualification Ticket where the level provides one.

Qualification Tickets

• Grant only a free entry into the next competition level.
• Have no monetary value.
• Are not transferable.
• Cannot be exchanged for NEEW Points or for money.

Judging integrity

• Winners are determined by judging criteria and photographic quality — never by random selection, draw, or chance.
• Paid submissions and qualified submissions go through the same judging process.

7. NEEW Points

NEEW Points come from two places, and they behave differently:

• Monthly Participation Grant — 150 NP every 30 days. Unused grant points expire when the next grant arrives; they do not accumulate.
• Community-earned points — 3 NP for each completed Community Review batch, once a day. These accumulate up to a balance of 500 NP.

When you enter a competition, grant points are spent first, so points that are about to expire are used before points that would have kept.

Points cannot be withdrawn, converted into money, sent to another user, or sold. If NEEW cancels a competition after entries have been accepted, the points are returned in full to every participant.

7a. Community Review

A Community Review batch shows you ten pairs of photographs and asks which is stronger. Photographer identity is never shown, you never see your own work, and pairs are randomised.

Community votes do not decide official results. They do not determine the Winner, either Runner-up, or qualification. Official awards are decided by the jury on the published criteria. Community voting exists for engagement and discovery.

Points are awarded for a completed batch, never per individual vote. Batches that show signs of automated or bad-faith voting can be invalidated, and the points reversed.

8. Moderation and conduct

Every submission is reviewed before it appears publicly. Submissions may be rejected or disqualified where they breach these rules, the content policy, or the rules of the specific competition. Reasons are recorded, and you will be told the outcome.

Anyone can report a photograph for a stolen image, a copyright violation, AI-generated content, prohibited content, impersonation or spam.

9. Changes

These rules may change. A competition is governed by the rules in force when it opens. Material changes are announced in the Journal.